Kaimonkyo: Land by the Waves
by Arclight-Zero
Summary: Side story based on 'Teeth and Claws' by UnmovingGreatLibrary. (Currently on hold due to being rewritten).
1. Prologue

**Kaimonkyo: Land by the Waves**

* * *

Prologue

* * *

As nostalgic as it was, Reimu could not help but smile at the irony of the situation. Seven months ago, Shiko was out to get all youkais regardless of whether or not they were posing a threat to humans. Now, she had mostly scaled back her youkai-exterminating activities and took up a more laidback attitude instead. Had it been any other day, Reimu would be having some tea and chatting with youkais that visited. Now that she was a youkai, it felt like bittersweet irony. She would have laughed at the thought of it.

But deep down, she was glad that everything was alright for the time being. Reimu, Marisa, and Shiko were seated by the table. The shrine maiden was pouring tea for her two guests. Shiko had a sour look on her face, though she did her best to hide it under a forced smile. After she had poured the tea, Shiko went to the kitchen to grab some steamed buns. When she came back with a plate of buns, Shiko served her guests one each.

"How come I don't see you serving me steamed buns when I visited you?" Marisa asked while looking at Reimu.

"That's because a certain somebody keeps getting to them before me," Reimu replied with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, it has to be those blasted fairies," Marisa said. She rubbed her chin and pretended to be thoughtful.

Shiko sat down next to Marisa and grabbed a bun from the plate. "She wouldn't admit I gave her a good beating."

"A shrine maiden after your own heart, Reimu," Marisa said with a chuckle. She rubbed the back of her head and winced in pain.

The shrine maiden smiled and took a bite. Marisa had been a good friend to her, and at the same time, she had been a mentor as well. She drops by the shrine rather often, sometimes to warn Shiko of incidents and joining on youkai hunts, other times just to chat and annoy her for the fun of it. It irked her at first, but she got used to Marisa's antics. Reimu on the other hand was still a total stranger. The only times she saw the former shrine maiden was when an incident crops up, the most recent being a string of feral youkais terrorising the human village.

Shiko looked at Reimu while slowly chewing on her food. She was too busy talking and laughing with Marisa to notice her stare. Only when Reimu turned around to drink her tea did she notice Shiko looking at her. There was a look of suspicion in her eyes, and Reimu frowned at her in return. Both glared at each other for a bit until Marisa decided to wave her hands in front of their faces. Shiko was the first to break her gaze. She took another bite from her bun.

"Why are you here?" Shiko asked after swallowing her food.

"Am I not allowed to visit the shrine I once worked in?" Reimu countered.

"You don't usually come here unless there's something important. So what's going on?" She looked at Marisa. "You know something, don't you, Marisa?"

Marisa looked away while scratching her chin. "I don't know whatcha talking about, Shiko."

"Don't play dumb with me. Reimu doesn't come to the shrine unless there is something important at hand. I'm sure you know something about that." Shiko poured more tea for Marisa, but she stopped short of pouring some for her youkai guest. "Right?" she asked while looking at her.

When Reimu did not answer, Shiko sighed furtively and poured tea into her cup. Aside from the chirping birds, rustling leaves, and the sound of a bamboo tube striking on rocks, the shrine was as quiet as it could get. Shiko took her seat after she finished filling Reimu's cup, and her hand reached for another bun. But when she felt an empty plate instead, she glared at Marisa, who was busy licking her fingers. She shrugged when she saw the shrine maiden looking at her with a disapproving expression.

Before Shiko could chide her, Reimu took a sip from her cup nodded softly. "You're right, there's something I need to tell you," she said. "I thought Yukari was joking at first."

"What do you mean?" Shiko's expression softened into one of curiosity.

"Do you know why Gensokyo was created?" Reimu asked.

"Gensokyo's a sanctuary made to shelter youkais, and to maintain their existence," she answered quickly and tersely. "Do you doubt my training?"

Reimu frowned at her. "No, I'm not doubting anything. But did you know Gensokyo isn't the only youkai sanctuary?"

She had expected a surprised reaction from Shiko, but all she got was a nod and a shrug. "I suppose it's plausible that there's more than one sanctuary around here," Shiko said as she leaned forward. "But what's that gotta do with us?"

"A few days ago, Yukari told me to look into an important issue for her. She said her friend requested some help."

"And I suppose said friend is from the other youkai sanctuary?"

"She's learning fast," Marisa joked, and earned her a tap from Shiko's purification rod.

"Yes," Reimu said with a nod. "You're right. As much as I don't wanna leave Gensokyo, I still owe Yukari for saving my life. Plus, I agreed that I would be her teeth and claws, her final say in things."

"I didn't know Yukari had friends outside of Gensokyo. Makes you wonder what else she's hiding underneath that smile," Marisa said.

"You'd be surprised," Reimu said with a grin. Her thoughts wandered off to them time when she and Yukari had a date in the outside world. Her blush caught Marisa's attention, and she cleared her throat loudly. Reimu gasped in surprise and looked at Shiko "...erm yeah."

Shiko crossed her arms. "Leaving soon?"

"In two hours," Reimu answered. "Just wanted to inform you...and remind you that as long as you abide by the spellcard rules, you're less likely to get killed by youkais. It's there for a reason."

"I don't think the same can be applied with the feral ones, though I'm glad Eirin found a cure for the feralness. I was starting to miss Mystia's lampreys," Marisa said.

"Please don't remind me," Shiko muttered while closing her eyes and pinching her nose bridge.

The Feral Youkai Incident had a rather lasting impression on Shiko. The time she took Reimu's words to heart, she had to reverse it because some of the youkais went about killing humans. It was not an isolated case either, and it involved dozens of known youkais. At first, Rumia went about snatching people up. Then, the feralness eventually spread Mystia, Aya, and even Nitori herself. While Eirin was successful in creating a cure to reverse the feralness, Shiko was haunted by the conflictions within her.

Reimu was right. Youkais needed conflict with humans to survive as much as they needed to eat humans to sustain themselves effectively. That much Shiko understood. But having to exterminate some of them ate at her emotions, especially having to exterminate some youkais that frequented the shrine and having gotten acquainted with. Most of the spellcards she knew were aimed at exterminating them outright, but to Shiko's credit, she came up with a spellcard of her own that proved to be rather useful.

The Spirit Sign "Compassion Cage" (夢符「同情檻」) was developed as a result, allowing Shiko to seal a youkai's power without harming them and effectively rendering them helpless. The spellcard was more of a situational thing than a proper spellcard for danmaku, but it served its purpose. This not only saved the lives of many youkais, it helped Eirin obtain a cure by synthesising essences extracted from them. It earned her praises, but Shiko still felt unhappy about saving youkais. Should she really care so much about youkais? They attacked humans, and that was one thing that never changed. But then Reimu came and changed her perception drastically. Why?

"Good, I'm glad we understand each other then," Reimu said with a smile, her words bringing Shiko back from deep thought.

"Whatever," Shiko said with a dismissive wave. "Just do whatever you need to do."

"And I will. Keep Gensokyo safe for me," Reimu said softly.

"You can count on us, Reimu. We'll make sure Gensokyo remains safe and sound. No red mists or nuclear birds are gonna get by our watch," Marisa said while patting her chest confidently.

"If she stops trying to nick books from Patchouli," Shiko added under her breath.

But Marisa heard what she said. "Hey, it's called 'extended borrowing'."

* * *

After a short and quick lunch, Reimu went back to the Yakumo homestead while Marisa opted to remain at the shrine to chat with Shiko. By the time Reimu took off, Aya had dropped by to spy on the new shrine maiden again. After making it back to the mansion, she found Ran waiting for her at the entrance, and Yukari was nowhere to be seen, most likely sleeping in her room like she usually does in the day. Reimu went about packing some clothes and necessities into a bag, preparing for a journey alone to another sanctuary.

As far as Reimu was concerned, the other sanctuary was also watched over by a youkai similar to Yukari. While Yukari had the power to go anywhere she please, she could not simply create a gap in a foreign barrier without the consent of the other gap youkai. If all went according to plan, Yukari's letter should reach her counterpart, and Reimu's attempt to open a gap to the other sanctuary should be allowed. That was 3 days ago, but the young shikigami wondered if the other youkai got the memo.

In her mind, Reimu started imagining what it was like in the other sanctuary. Was it like Gensokyo? There was lingering doubt in her. The chances of other sanctuaries adopting a similar non-lethal rule were about 5 percent. It took her considerable effort to implement the rule and get everyone of them to obey it. Despite the odds, most youkais and humans abided by it. The same can't be said of a certain divine spirit though. Still, it was a good result in the end.

"Reimu, can I have a word with you for a moment?" she heard Ran's voice outside her room.

She opened the door, and the kitsune was standing in front of her and smiling respectfully. "What's wrong?" Reimu asked.

"I just wanted to give you some advice before you leave," Ran answered. "May I?" She made a gesture indicating her intention to enter.

"O-oh, of course."

After closing the room door, Ran took a seat on the bed while Reimu went to the closest to grab some books. "Before that, Chen wanted me to give you this."

Reimu turned around to see Ran holding what looked like a bamboo stick with paper streamers on it. She went over to her, took it, and examined every inch of it. A frown developed on Reimu's face, while Ran merely smiled at her. "It's a bamboo stick made to look like my gohei."

"Yep, it is."

"It doesn't do anything."

"So does a gohei when wielded by someone who isn't a miko," Ran said. "It only works because one believes in what it does. Some objects like the mini-hakkero are inherently magical, but objects like the gohei are just...objects."

"And you're saying if I believe it'll work, it'll work?" Reimu spun the stick but dropped it onto the floor. She quickly picked it up.

"That's up to you to find out. As odd as it is to see a youkai carrying something that resembles a religious object, I think Chen's just trying to make you happy, Reimu. You've been a good caretaker to her, and she wants to repay the favour," Ran said kindly.

"I see," Reimu said. It made sense, and Reimu's heart tingled a little at Chen's little gift. "But I'm sure you're not just here to give me something."

Ran's expression hardened slightly, and she stood up from the bed. "The task you're about to undertake will be dangerous. I won't lie, but I've calculated the chances of success to be around 15 percent."

"That's not very promising," Reimu muttered. "But what am I up against anyway? Yukari's been pretty vague about this task."

"Put it this way. Imagine Gensokyo, but five times more chaotic. There are no spellcard rules in place to ensure non-lethal fights."

"I had a feeling you'd say that," Reimu said.

"If you don't intervene in time, there is a 90 percent chance that this youkai sanctuary will disappear for good, and all spiritual beings in it wiped out or severely weakened. I have asked Miss Yukari for clarification on that matter, but she won't say anything more. My best educated guess here is that you're on a peacekeeping mission on behalf of her," Ran answered.

It did not make sense. It never occurred to Reimu that youkais did peacekeeping. If anything, they thrived on conflict, and the ones in Gensokyo were no different. Unless said sanctuary was experiencing a full-scale war, she could not understand why she should even bother. Even a war counts as a conflict, and the youkais should have no problem with that. Again, Gensokyo was no stranger to wars as well, if one counts the Fairy Wars as a proper war in the first place.

It left more questions than answers, and even Ran's answers could not satisfy her. Nevertheless, Reimu said nothing but nodded her head a few times. After thanking Ran for her insight, she finished up with her packing. Her bag was simple and small, and she had only two pairs of spare clothes, Chen's gohei replica, some old books, and a packet of incense sticks. She was not sure if the incense sticks would come in handy or serve any purpose in this task, but it would not hurt to bring some just in case she wanted to offer some prayers to the gods there.

* * *

Yukari had already provided Reimu instructions on how to gap to the other sanctuary the night before, but she had other things to settle first. She returned to the Hakurei shrine and went to look for Shiko. But the shrine maiden was not around. Sighing, Reimu walked over to the offering box and looked into it. It was empty, and she chuckled. Some things never change. She rang the bell, dropped a sack of koban into the box, bowed, and prayed. At this point, there was no use trying to pray for a response from the Hakurei shrine gods. They were silent, and had always been silent. Reimu was used to it, but she tried anyway.

"Still trying?" she heard Shiko's voice behind her.

Reimu remained in her spot for a few seconds before bowing again to conclude her prayer. "Trying to remind myself of a past I can't have ever again," she said melancholically.

When she turned around, she saw Shiko getting off Genjii. The old turtle smiled at Reimu warmly, and she returned the smile as well. Without thinking, she ran up to him and gave him a tight and long hug. Shiko could see tears streaming from Reimu's eyes, and for a moment, she thought she saw a faint violet glitter in it.

"I never took you for an emotional person, Reimu," Genjii said.

"Never thought I'd see the past being played out again, gramps," Reimu replied with a sob and a smile.

"I heard you're leaving Gensokyo for a while," he said in a slow and deliberate pace. "Shiko's been worrying."

For the first time, Reimu gave Shiko a surprised look. The shrine maiden frowned and looked away, but the blushes on her cheeks were evident. "Hey, I'm just concerned, okay?"

Reimu wiped the tears from her eyes. "Why're you out with Genjii anyway? I thought you could fly on your own."

"I could, but gramps wanted to talk to me about you. So we went flying all over Gensokyo just for that," Shiko said.

"What did you talk about?" Reimu asked while looking back at the old turtle.

"A little friendly parental advice," Genjii replied enigmatically. "That, and I wanted the glowing moss off my shell. I don't know why you even let that Kirisame girl talk you into putting that on my back."

Reimu lowered her eyes. "...sorry."

Genjii sighed and smiled. "Someday, Reimu, I'm sure Shiko will be like you. Why, I'm inclined to believe she may be your long lost sister. Your personalities are rather similar."

While Shiko creased her mouth, Reimu rolled her eyes. "You're not the first to tell me that."

"Well, I don't wanna keep you from your task. You should get going," Genjii said while moving past them and headed back to the pond behind the shrine.

With Genjii out of earshot, Reimu turned to Shiko and said, "I sometimes forget he's even there."

"You're terrible," Shiko said curtly.

Reimu scowled at Shiko and crossed her arms at the remark. Unexpectedly, Shiko shot towards Reimu and gave her a hug instead. Caught by surprise, she did not know what to do, but the shrine maiden quickly let go of her before she could respond in kind. She felt cold, the heat in her body non-existent for she was a youkai. But there was a heartbeat, a reminder of what was left of her humanity.

"Be safe out there, okay? Just...come back alive. Don't make me hug you for nothing," Shiko said with a frown.

"I'll be fine, Shiko. You better keep Gensokyo safe for me, and please, don't go beating youkais up without a good reason."

"Shut up."

Reimu chuckled at her reaction, and immediately stopped. Being around Yukari had made her pick up some of her traits, and she was not sure whether she was comfortable with that or not. After saying her goodbyes, Reimu opened a gap when she was right under the shrine gate. Giving the shrine one last look (with Shiko still standing in front of the donation box looking at her), she took a deep breath and walked into the gap.

After the gap closed behind her, Reimu's began recalling Yukari's instructions on how to gap to the other youkai sanctuary. It was an uncertain method; something Reimu suspected Yukari had came up with on the fly. She mooted the idea of utilising public transportation in the outside world, but the gap youkai said it was urgent, and travelling in the outside world would take a while.

"First, find coordinates at latitude 32 degrees, 36 minutes, and 38 seconds North. Longitude is 129 degrees, 46 minutes, and 54.8 seconds East," Reimu recited. "Then, initiate handshake with foreign barrier."

Given the upgrades given to her by Yukari, she found it easy to determine where to go. But it was rather far away, and even within the gap dimension, it was taxing on her to reach such a distant location. But Reimu willed herself to go forth, ignoring the weakness she was feeling in her body. It felt like half an hour went by, but there was no way to tell time accurately within the dimension. After a while, she reached what felt like an impassable barrier. With her enhanced senses though, she could see the barrier itself, and it shimmered like a bubble in the sea of non-Euclidean space.

"This has to be the place," she said to herself.

The handshake was nothing more than a tap on the barrier, something to inform the other side of a guest. Each tap sent a rather strong ripple throughout the entire thing, and Reimu winced at the sight of it. If there was someone in charge of maintaining the barrier, they would definitely have felt that. Reimu waited, five minutes went by, but she did not receive a feedback. She tapped her right foot impatiently, the scowl on her face growing deeper. Before she could bang on the barrier again, a barrier gap opened in front of her.

It looked almost like Yukari's gap, but the edges were less refined, and lacked the trademark bows that tied each end of the gap. It was like staring into space but without any stars or planets in it. Reimu peeked into it out of curiosity, but before she could register what she saw, a person climbed out of it and closed the gap behind her. Reimu thought she looked almost like Yuuka, but with longer hair and wearing Patchouli's nightgown. In her right hand, she had a sake bottle.

"Tch, how typical of Yukari," she said with mock disappointment. "Well, more for me."

Reimu gave her an irritated glare, but the youkai seemed to ignore her. Instead, she down the while bottle of sake until there was nothing it. Seeing that there was nothing left, she tossed it aside and let the empty bottle float in gap space. The smell of alcohol was strong, and if she had horns, Reimu would have mistaken her for an oni.

"It's never like her to do things herself anyway," the youkai said with surprising clarity despite looking drunk.

"Can you focus for a moment?!" Reimu said angrily.

"My, such temper," she said plainly. "You must be hungry. Come, let's fix you up with a nice bowl of ramen and meat. You want the liver or the heart?"

"...do you mean humans?" Reimu asked with a feeling of slight dread in her.

The youkai waved her hand as if to dismiss her concerns. "Pfft, what else? There ain't cows here thanks to those thieving tengus. Bird-brained magpies, the lot of them."

Reimu had long accepted the fact that she had to eat humans for proper sustenance. Other animals worked too but they do not satisfy her needs as well as human flesh does. But she never went beyond eating blood cakes provided by the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Still, the youkai instincts at her made her mouth water at the thought of human flesh. It took a lot of willpower to banish the thoughts, but the youkai seemed to have noticed her inner conflict.

"Bah, let's have some soba instead," she said. "Oh, yes, how rude of me." She slapped her forehead and took a lazy bow at Reimu. "Aohara Chizuru, youkai of dimensions, architect of the Akami Barrier." When she looked up, she smiled at Reimu with a glint in her eyes. "Welcome to Kaimonkyo."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I've not written fanfiction in a very long while, and I'm rather glad to be back with some ideas to write out. If you have read **UnmovingGreatLibrary** 's fanfic " **Teeth and Claws** " (a super good fanfic in my opinion by the way), you'll notice that I'm basing this fic off it. It's not a sequel; it's more of a side story. And yes, I wrote this with permission from UnmovingGreatLibrary. Trying to write in the original style is hard, so forgive me if it does not feel as smooth or seem entirely in-character. I do my best to be as close to canon as possible though, but I will write it in my own style (with references to some of UnmovingGreatLibrary's style haha). I'm pretty sure I've made blunders here and there, so by all means, point them out so I can fix them in future chapters. Other than that, I thank you for reading.

 **Disclaimer:** Touhou belongs to ZUN, ideas from **Teeth and Claws** belong to UnMovingGreatLibrary.


	2. Chapter 1

**Kaimonkyo: Land by the Waves**

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

Passing through Kaimonkyo's barrier was no different than doing the same at Gensokyo. The only difference here was that Reimu had no control over it. She secretly attempted to manipulate it when she thought Chizuru was not looking, but she could not manage to make even a tiny crack. It felt like an attempt to bend solid iron, and the iron is pushing back twice as hard. Shaking her head in frustration, Reimu picked up the pace and fell in line with the unkempt youkai. A couple of seconds later, Chizuru stopped in her tracks, and Reimu nearly bumped into her. Before she could ask what was going on, the gap youkai snapped her fingers. A gap opened up, and sunlight flooded Reimu's eyes. Being in the border dimension for so long, her eyes struggled to get accustomed to the light. She shielded her eyes for a moment while squinting as hard as she could, until the light no longer felt like an assault on her vision. It took only ten seconds for her to adjust. Had she been a human, it would undoubtedly take longer.

With beckoning from Chizuru, Reimu gingerly took out of the border dimension and into the sanctuary of Kaimonkyo. It was not the first time she has been outside of Gensokyo, but being in another sanctuary felt different. She had never seen or heard of other sanctuaries until recently, and deep down, Reimu did not know what to expect. It made her twitch her fingers in anticipation. Instinctively, she tried to reach for her gohei, only to realise a few seconds later that she was unfit to carry one. Sighing softly, Reimu pushed forth. The moment she stepped out of the gap, a salty and unfamiliar smell greeted her nostrils. She could not describe it, but she did not enjoy the smell one bit. Chizuru on the other hand took a deep breath, stretched her limbs, and let out a long and pleasured sigh. She cracked her knuckles and flexed her arms, as if preparing herself for a fight. When she saw Reimu looking at her, Chizuru smiled softly. With red cheeks, she quickly looked away.

Looking around, Reimu noticed that they were standing next to a torii. There was a stone path that led from the gate to the steps of a shrine. It was built in the middle of a small clearing, and it was sheltered by the tops of trees that grew over the opening. To the immediate left of the shrine were a gingko tree and a small hut, its purpose unknown. Seeds from the tree were scattered across the ground, and some of them were stuck on the roof of the shrine. The shrine seemed unoccupied, but Reimu heard instruments being played and it sounded like it came from within. The drum beats were slow and purposeful, and she immediately recognised them. There was a wedding going on in there. Having conducted several wedding ceremonies before, she knew better than to interrupt the procession. She distracted herself by taking a look at her surroundings.

They were on the side of a mountain as Reimu could see that there was a settlement located at a lower elevation. It was next to a body of water which she recognised as the sea. She had seen pictures of seas in books that Marisa 'borrowed' from Patchouli. She had an idea on how seas should look like, but an odd curtain of fog obscured the horizon. It was a puzzling sight because it looked like as if something was keeping the fog at bay. Reimu made a mental note to check out the fog when she had the chance. Normally, as long as things did not cause trouble, she would not bother investigating it. But ever since becoming Yukari's shikigami, curiosity for unusual things and occurrences crept into her. With the intelligence programming in her, Reimu felt compelled to investigate almost everything. Almost. Things like 'what grows under Marisa's bed' and 'how long can she hold yin-yang orbs before dropping them' were best left unanswered. It was annoying that they think that just because she was given super intellect by Yukari, she could answer all of life's questions. Kanako even came by to talk about science, only for an irate Reimu to shoo her away with a piece of stick.

"Enjoying the view?" Chizuru asked and disrupted her train of thought.

"It's almost the same as Gensokyo," Reimu said with a shrug. "Everything seems quiet too. What exactly is the problem?"

Chizuru reached her hand into a gap and pulled out another sake bottle. She popped it open and took a long and heavy chug. When she was done, she looked at Reimu. "Problem is we're always low on sake. I had to borrow this from the shop."

"Good grief," Reimu muttered while dragging a hand down her face. "Not only are you an oni, you're Marisa as well."

Chizuru pointed the bottle at Reimu. "Hey, I'll have you know that I'm an honorary oni," she said in a mock irate tone. "And my drinking puts the Oni Lord to shame."

Reimu crossed her arms angrily. "Can we please get back to the point? What is wrong with Kaimonkyo anyway? I don't see any problems around here."

She chuckled and said, "Not all problems are obvious, Reimu. This one requires a little more...investigative work than outright brute force."

"Well, have you found out anything then?" Reimu asked.

"Yeah, I found out that the shop I frequent has terrible sake, and I don't wanna go to the Outside World to get some. Need to find for a better place to buy."

Reimu narrowed her eyes, the latter still oblivious to her annoyance. She asked for help, but now she was trying to shrug off attempts to look into the issue. It was obvious that Chizuru had something to hide, and Reimu wanted to know what it was. She spent the next three minutes drilling her for the real answer, but each time she said something, it was something trivial or unrelated to anything important. For a moment, the former miko began to wonder if this was an elaborate prank.

"I'm guessing there isn't actually a problem here?" Reimu said with finality in her tone.

Reimu's stomach growled, causing her face to go deep red with embarrassment. Chizuru chuckled. "There's your problem right there. I tell you what, let's go get something to eat. I still owe you that bowl of soba after all."

Soba was not the food that ran through her mind though. The smell of humans was enticing, and the fact that her hunger was back was not helping much. Eating humans was a necessity for survival. That was a fact. But deep down, Reimu has yet to accept it entirely. Another thing that bothered her was the fact that her hunger had returned much sooner than she anticipated. Yukari was right. The blood cakes alone were not enough to sustain her for long periods. She had hoped it would last for at least half a year, but that was not the case. The hunger gnawed at her memories of the time when she attempted to starve herself because she felt it was morally wrong to eat humans.

Reimu looked towards the shrine hungrily. Chizuru eyed at her, and her mouth creased while she nodded her head slowly. "You know it's not a good idea, right?"

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know," Reimu snapped while clutching her stomach.

"Well, I'm not gonna force you to do something you don't like. But just in case you change your mind, there's a youkai food stall just halfway down from here," Chizuru said softly.

"...that's way too close to the shrine, don't you think? Won't that get the attention of the miko?" Reimu asked.

"Let's just say we have an understanding going on between us. She won't try to kill us as long as we leave the settlement alone."

"And I'm supposed to feel better about that?"

"We don't need to eat a lot, you know."

No different here it seems. Reimu knew where this was going, and if Chizuru was anything like Yukari, she'd throw in the same argument as well. It made sense in the grand scheme of things and life itself involved creatures eating each other. Humanity may be apex predators in the Outside World, but in sanctuaries like Gensokyo, they were subject to predations by the youkai and perhaps even the celestials themselves if they so fancy it. After all, the strong fed upon the weak. And as Yukari so elegantly described it: it is just being part of the food chain. Cows ate plants, humans ate cows, and youkais ate humans.

"But still..." Reimu muttered.

"Frankly, I wouldn't really care, but Yukari made me promise that you'd be safe during your stay. If you die here...well...she'd probably have my head. Or my limb. Since you're her shikigami, she'll know if anything happens to you." She casually tossed the empty sake bottle aside, earning a huff of disapproval from Reimu. She then let off a short and soft sigh before doubling over from hunger-induced pains.

"I guess both of us don't have a choice then."

"Yep."

"Damn it..." Reimu pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

Chizuru stood up and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "But trust me. You have this one meal of human flesh, and it'll sustain you for at least a couple of years. All you need to do is eat a limb, like a leg."

For a moment, she was silent. After half a minute or so, Reimu said, "Let's just get this over with."

* * *

The aforementioned food stall was just a couple of flights of stairs down the mountain, but they had to take a left turn onto an unmarked path. Because Reimu was starting to tire herself out due to the hunger, Chizuru offered to carry her. She promptly refused, stating that she was able to walk. The further in they went, the more Reimu started to wobble and lose balance. Her vision was getting blurry, and sweat rolled down her face.

By the time they reached a seemingly unassuming stall in the middle of the forest, Reimu took a seat slowly and immediately collapsed onto the table. The commotion caused a youkai to pop her head out from behind the stall. When she saw Chizuru taking a seat along with an unfamiliar face, she quickly flew over to greet them. Reimu managed to turn her head to the right. She raised an eyebrow and pointed at the youkai.

"Mystia?" she said.

The youkai blinked in confusion before letting out a soft laugh. Chizuru, on the other hand, looked at Reimu. "Who is Mystia?"

"I'll explain later," she said in a sweet voice. "It looks like your friend needs some nourishment."

"Anything fresh?" she asked.

The youkai nodded. "Yep, I caught this one attempting to leap off a cliff not too long ago. It'd be a waste for her to be food for the isonade."

"Yes, a waste indeed," Chizuru muttered. She struck the table with her palm and said, "So, let's give our friend here a bowl of ramen and a healthy serving of leg."

"I thought we were eating soba," Reimu said weakly.

"Change of plan. And don't make me feed you."

While the youkai was busy preparing her food, Reimu caught the whiff of fresh blood. It made her stomach growl again, and her mouth watered with anticipation. Chizuru was quiet, not wanting to strike up a conversation. She did not attempt to grab anything this time, opting to look at Reimu to make sure she did not pass out. There was a small clearing in the tree canopy, and a pink leaf flitted down from the skies above. It landed on the table, just in front of Reimu's face.

Her eyes wandered upwards, and her mouth was agape with awe. There was a tree unlike any other, and even in her weakened state, she managed to run some calculations in her head. She estimated the cherry blossom tree to be around 100 metres tall and 12 metres in diameter. Not even the Saigyou Ayakashi was this large, and that was saying something. Some memories of the Spring Snow Incident and images of Yuyuko popped into her mind. Then, a thought hit her.

"Your food's ready!" came a sing-song voice, causing Reimu to jump a bit.

She sat up just in time to see the youkai place a large bowl of hot ramen on the table. With a smile, she gave Reimu a pair of chopsticks. When the night sparrow youkai turned to look at Chizuru, she shook her head. "Come indulge me with some answers though," she said while patting on an empty chair.

Reimu fished a piece of meat from the soup, and her mouth creased. It seemed no different from any other meat, but it smelled different. It was definitely human. She took a deep breath and looked at the two. The night sparrow had taken her seat when she noticed Reimu's stare, and she cocked her head slightly. Chizuru gestured for her to take a bite.

"Like you said, Reimu, we don't have a choice."

After taking a big gulp of saliva, she took a bite. Then, she completely forgot about her objections towards eating human meat. The taste was too good, too tempting to stop. It had awoken something in her that she had kept suppressed for the past 7 months. Not even the cakes and teas could make her lose control. Reimu wolfed down large chunks of meat, only stopping to wipe some sweat from her forehead before continuing her meal. Only when all the meat was gone did she go for the ramen. It tasted good, but it was nothing crow about. She had tasted better ones back at Gensokyo.

"There, don't you feel better now?" Chizuru asked with a grin on her face.

She paused to slurp some of the ramen. After she swallowed it, she said, "I'm probably gonna regret this later though."

"But why?" the night sparrow asked.

"She's just going through a phase. Give her time," Chizuru answered in Reimu's stead.

Reimu said nothing and continued eating her meal. When she finished the last strand of noodle and slurped up the last drop of soup, a few more cherry blossom petals flitted down and landed on the table. She put down the bowl and let out a very long sigh of content, her fangs gleaming in a sunray that managed to reach through the hole in the trees. The devil in her seemed satisfied, and she felt the gnawing pain disappear. Hopefully, this would last her for a while so she would not need to eat another human. Her mind was in conflict over the moral implications, but there were pressing matters to look into.

"How was it?" the youkai asked.

"If you want my honest opinion, it could've been better. It's a little salty. Otherwise, it's perfect," Reimu said.

"Hah, I told you, Gracia! I always said your ramen was a little too salty, but you think I'm lying to you!" Chizuru exclaimed.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh rub it in, will you?"

"Your name's Gracia?" Reimu interrupted just as Chizuru was about to retort.

She turned to her and nodded with a smile. "Yep, Gracia Lorelei! Originally from Aichi, moved to Kaimonkyo a couple of centuries back."

Reimu leaned forward a bit. "You don't happen to be related to Mystia, do you?"

"Yep, I am," she chirped happily. "We were from the same nest, but Mystia migrated northwards while I moved south."

"...that explains why you look so much like her."

Gracia's eyes widened. "Wait, you know Mystia?" Then, she launched into a barrage of questions on how she was doing, what she was doing, and any question she can think of. Reimu was used to dealing with magical barrages; not barrages of questions. Chizuru stepped in and put a hand over her mouth, but she refused to stop. Muffled questions continued streaming from her until Reimu raised her hand, causing her to stop.

"She's fine. A troublemaker, but doing fine. But I'd like to know something from you as well," she said. When she nodded her head, Chizuru let go of her. "What's the name of that cherry blossom?" She gestured towards it.

"Oh, that tree?" Gracia turned her head to look at the mighty cherry blossom. "That's the Eien no Sakura. We can go there anytime, but humans are forbidden to come close to it."

"Why's that?"

"...I have no idea actually."

"Ye gods..." Reimu planted a palm onto her face.

Chizuru cleared her throat and said, "It's a bit of a long story, that one. Here's the short and sweet version: its fruits are not meant for consumption by humans. There were cases of people dying because they ate from it. I had to personally stop a few samurais from harvesting it back then. I dunno where they got the misbegotten idea it'd grant them immortality."

"Suppose I should walk up to it and eat from it, will anything happen to me?"

"Reimu, you're a youkai. I don't think anything's gonna happen to you. If you fancy it, by all means. Heck, grab some of the leaves too. I hear they make great tea."

Giving the tree one last glance, she leaned forward slightly and looked at Chizuru. "There aren't any dead bodies buried underneath it, right?"

Gracia and Chizuru gave her puzzled looks. "No, and I don't see why there should be any. That tree's sacred to youkais here," Chizuru said.

"Huh." Reimu rubbed her chin. "I never had the impression that youkais held things sacred, especially if the tree is just another youkai."

"I guess we're not all the same," Chizuru said with a shrug.

As far as Reimu was concerned, the youkais she encountered back at Gensokyo held nothing sacred except for their own wellbeing. Symbolisms were never something they indulge in, preferring a straightforward approach to matters in life. With the exception of Yukari, Ran, and a few other youkais, the rest did not bother with meanings and implications. She found it interesting that Kaimonkyo's youkai population had something common they held dear to. But if they were just as selfish and individualistic as Gensokyo's common youkais, it would inevitably lead to some conflicts with each other.

Though, it was funny to think of the youkais fighting tooth and nail for the biggest piece of fruit or the best branch to sit on. Reimu chuckled thinking about it. If she was still a miko, she would probably let them exterminate themselves. So if the tree was nothing more than a picnic spot for youkais, then the issue must be something else. Reimu was up for some investigative work, but she had no lead to start on. Inevitably, her thoughts went back to the shrine uphill.

"That shrine up there, is it the only one?" she asked.

"Yes, it is. Why, are there many shrines at Gensokyo?" Chizuru asked in return.

"Eh...let's just say I have some friendly rivals," Reimu answered.

"So does the Akami Shrine. Ako has a decent number of followers, but the shrine isn't the only place of worship in Kaimonkyo."

"There are Buddhists here too?"

"Eh, there is a small Buddhist temple by the human settlement, but it's nothing compared to Saint Michael's Chapel located at the other side of mountain."

Reimu raised an eyebrow. "Saint Michael's? What religion is that?"

"I think they're called Christians," Gracia interjected. "Heard one of the humans call themselves that anyway."

Chizuru nodded. "The religion is tied to the south's history, but I digress. What's on your mind though, asking about the shrine all of a sudden?"

Reimu stood up. "I need to talk to the shrine maiden."

"I think you should sit down," said Chizuru.

"And why should I do that?" Reimu turned to look at her.

"Because she's already here."

Reimu heard some rustling come from the pathway, and before she could react, a young woman landed next to a dying tree. Her outfit was that of a typical miko, unmodified and traditional in many ways except for her detached sleeves. Her hair was tied into a ponytail of medium length. Reimu had expected ying-yang orbs, instead, the miko brought with her an ornate catalpa bow with a quiver of arrows strapped to her back. Her gohei was strapped to the belt, and Reimu noticed a stack of ofuda sticking out from a small waist bag she carried. She was even more equipped than Shiko, Reimu thought.

"That's Katakura Ako, miko of Akami Shrine."

* * *

 **Lt Colonel Summers:** No, I don't see the sanctuaries as a country of some sort. They have no leader such as a president or prime minister, but they do have key figures like Reimu and Yukari to maintain the barrier that makes up the sanctuary. All in all though, both Gensokyo and Kaimonkyo are leaderless, and power of authority mainly rests in the hands of settlement leaders and chieftains.

 **onie:** Thanks for reading!

 **narysowany:** Good eye there. Admittedly, I wasn't feeling so good when I wrote the prologue. I had initially intended to upload it during my birthday, but then I fell sick. I do appreciate you pointing out the inconsistency, and I immediately rectified it. Thanks for that, and thanks for the review! Never a good idea to write while you're under the weather, and especially during 3 a.m.

 **Author's Notes:** I hope to put this out before Chinese New Year, and thankfully, I did. First of all, I'd like to thank those who commented. And as always, I want to thank **UnMovingGreatLibrary** for letting me base a story off of his fic. It's not easy attempting to replicate writing style, but I do my best to make this story as entertaining as possible. I know I've made some mistakes here and there, so feel free to point it out so I can rectify it. Hey, I'm not perfect after all. Other than that, peace out, fellow Touhou fans. See you in Chapter 2.

* * *

 **Extra Data**

* * *

Eien no Sakura (永遠の桜): Eternal Cherry Blossom, largest tree in Kaimonkyo and a popular gathering spot for youkais

Katakura Ako (片倉 亜子): Shrine maiden of the Akami Shrine

Gracia Lorelei (グラシア. ローレライ): Nest sister of Mystia, a good cook but likes salt a little too much

Aohara Chizuru (青原 千鶴): Yukari's former protégé (currently close friend) and architect of the Akami Barrier, also a self-proclaimed champion drunk

Kaimonkyo (海門郷): A youkai sanctuary similar to Gensokyo, located in the southern regions of Japan. Located next to the sea, it sports unique sea-based youkais not found in Gensokyo

Akami Jinja (赤見神社): The Akami Shrine, the main and only Shinto shrine in Kaimonkyo, functions similarly to the Hakurei Shrine of Gensokyo


End file.
